10 (What’s Required vs. What’s Not)

Hey, welcome to Leavenly! To help beginner like you, I have put together this list of 10 Sourdough Baking Tools which are divided into three groups: Required, Helpful, and Optional. This way, you can start by picking up only the absolutely required items, which is especially helpful if you are on a budget. Once you have baked a few times, I recommend picking up a few of the helpful items that you think would make your baking easier. Eventually, you will have all the items and you’ll be baking sourdough like a pro! You are one step closer to making your dream a reality, and I am super excited for you. To be fully transparent, I will make a small commission on any links you use to make purchases. That said, they are recommendations from my own personal experience! Most are items that I am personally using at this moment. Have fun collecting all your tools and get ready to start baking! Yours in Culture, Heather

What tools do I need to bake sourdough bread?

Not as many as you would think! To bake great sourdough, there are certain tools that you will need. The tools listed in the required section are absolutely necessary. Other tools make your life easier, and those are listed under helpful. Finally, there are some tools that some bakers use in addition to their other equipment, and those are listed as optional.

If you are just starting out and budget is an issue, I would recommend only buying the required tools. From there, you can slowly start adding some of the helpful tools, until you feel like your personal sourdough baking arsenal is full. Below are my recommended products.

Required: · Parchment Paper Parchment paper will make transfer of your into your vessel much easier and will prevent your loaf from sticking to your cooking vessel. Any brand is fine: as long as it’s parchment paper it’ll do the job! Personally, Reynolds is my favorite brand.

· Digital Scale You absolutely need a digital scale. Weighing your ingredients is much more accurate than volumetric measurements, like cups and tablespoons, and true bakers weigh their ingredients. As long as it weighs in grams, you’re all set. This scale is inexpensive and has everything you'll need.

· Heavy baking vessel with tight-fitting lid This is an absolute must. I’ve used both the Lodge cast iron combo and the Challenger Bread Pan. Both are great for different reasons. The Lodge combo cooker is less expensive, but over time feels limiting. However, it’s a great place to start. The Challenger Bread Pan is the champion of the bread world, and has a lot more versatility, but with a higher price tag. You can also use a basic 4- or 5-quart Dutch , or even a lidded pan. Whatever it is that you use, make sure it has a tight-fitting lid. This traps the escaping steam

from the dough as it bakes, simulating a steam-injection oven, and creates a perfect crunchy crust that’s not too thick or chewy. Helpful: · Proofing Baskets There is a lot of variety in proofing baskets, and price points vary as well. There are inexpensive proofing baskets that work just fine but may not hold up over time. There are also wooden baskets called bannetons which are beautiful, solid, and more expensive. I recommend getting baskets that come with liners.

· Wide or Container This is what you will be mixing your dough in, so you want it big. Starting out, I bought a stainless bowl that was large, cheap, and basic, and I still use it with every mix because it’s huge, it’s light, and it allows for your bread to rise without touching the kitchen towel. Plastic containers work, too, but they have to be pretty big. You can find good ones at a restaurant supply, if you’d rather be able to see your dough as it ferments.

· Bench Knife & Pastry Okay, so this is two things, but you can buy them as a set. They are so helpful. Your bench knife serves many functions: cutting dough, lifting dough, scraping countertops… The list goes on. Your pastry scraper is used to scrape the dough out of your bowl, and off your hands. Like the mixing bowl, I’m still using the very first ones I ever bought, which are linked to above.

· Digital Thermometer Most people already have a digital thermometer which is perfect for the job. You will be using the thermometer to measure the temperature of your and your dough. If you don’t already have one, choose a basic one that’s instant-read.

Optional: · Razor Blade You’ll need a basic razor blade for scoring your loaves. Scoring is necessary because it allows the loaf to reach its height potential, and prevents it from

bursting open from pressure. You can either slide it onto a split popsicle stick or buy a bread like the UFO Lame. Please don’t try to hold the blade in your bare hand! You need something to hold it securely. The razor blades are very cheap, and basic lames are pretty inexpensive as well.

· Linen Kitchen Towels Learn from my mistakes and don’t use terry cloth towels! The dough will stick to them and it will be a disaster. Linen kitchen towels are a flat-weave 100% cotton towel, so they’re breathable and their smooth surface prevents the dough from sticking. I like the ones that are large square shapes, but any will do. Choose ones that you like!

· Mason Mason jars are very useful for your starter and your leaven, though they’re not necessary. The type of mason that will serve you well are the 16oz wide- mouth jars. It will also be helpful to have a 32oz wide-mouth jar. If you can, get one large jar (for making leaven) and at least three regular jars (the first for your starter, the second for feeding, and the third for storing your discard in the fridge). I like to collect my discard and make something yummy with it once a week, like sourdough English muffins (my personal favorite!).

And that’s it! Once you get all your kitchen equipment together, you’re ready to start baking.

Next, make sure you have all your ingredients: • all-purpose • whole-wheat flour • • healthy active starter

Then it’s time to give it a shot! Remember, sourdough is much more forgiving than you might think. You can absolutely do this, and if you need more help or more encouragement, send me an email at [email protected]. I would love to hear from you!

Sourdough Notes Date: ______Time: ______am/pm Bake # ______Indoor temp: ______Outdoor temp: ______Weather: ______Ingredients used: ______

Time Process

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